The average house price in England and Wales rise by 1.7 per cent

The annual average house price in England and Wales rose by 1.7% in 2012, according to the flagship index by the Land Registry. This represents the fastest price increase in more than two years. The figures from Land Registry also show average house prices increased by 0.8% in December with London seeing the biggest increase at 8.4%.

Official house price figures

Official figures from the Land Registry for October, 2012 showed that the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased to 56,337 (3%) compared to the 57,988 figure recorded in October 2011. Property sold for more than one million pounds in October, 2012 rose by 14% to 623 up from 548 in October the previous year.

Houses in London experienced the greatest monthly price rise with 3.1%. The North West had the greatest annual price fall with 3.5%, as well as the most notable monthly price fall with 0.9%. The South East took the honours of the highest number of regional property applications for over one million pound with 193,079 in December, 2012.

High property prices in Salford

Average house price in Saltford were four times the price of a typical home in Manchester. With an annual price rise of 6.8% compared with the 1.7% average house price rise in England and Wales, Salford had the second highest house price rise in England and Wales. The metropolitan district was only outstripped by Greater London’s average capital price rise of 8.4% to £371,223 in 2012.

The sharp property price rise in Saltford was largely prompted by the BBC's £1 billion investment in the area. BBC transferred more than 2,300 staff and some of its flagship programmes to Stalford, including BBC Breakfast, Match of the Day and Blue Peter. This led to a property boom that invariably pushed house prices up faster than anywhere else in England beside London.

House price predictions

Speaking about the Land Registry's figures and the 2013 average house price predictions in England and Wales, Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said:

“…the national average masks significant regional differences, with prices falling in parts of the country and London continuing to outperform the rest. We expect this situation to continue this year (2013)."